Cloak & Dagger is the eleventh Marvel Cinematic Universe television series, and it aired on a channel called Freeform this summer, but I watched it while it was available on Hulu. It is about two people, Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson, who are each other’s yin and yang, and whose lives are tied together after they experience similar tragedies that give them powers. The ten-episode arc shows how they will eventually become their titular alter egos and a team.
I don’t read comic books, and I’m not familiar with these characters outside of this series. I did not completely understand what was going on during the first three episodes, and I only became invested in the characters at the fourth episode after everything was spelled out a little more. I then decided to rewatch Cloak & Dagger from the beginning to see if my initial impressions were correct.
Cloak & Dagger does prefer to show rather than tell, which is a good impulse, but perhaps takes too long to arrive at its destination. It demands your complete attention as various plot points are teased in casual asides or in the background. Unfortunately giving the show your complete attention can be frustrating. Many scenes feel repetitive as we see them separately going through similar experiences. When it does tell, it is laid on with a trowel, particularly in Episode 9. It is also a little too teen angsty for my taste. I feel as if Jessica Jones did a better job in pairing emotional character development with action, and the story’s trajectory never felt as if it was dragging or repetitive. I felt clenched throughout this whole series because I started watching it too soon after seeing The Killing, and Tandy’s story reminded me of the third season. Ty is in school, but she is not. Is she older or should I be concerned? I stayed concerned. The soundtrack is catchy and great, but sometimes I feel as if I am watching a music video more than a story because of how it dominates the air time, but the episode length is quite short—a little over forty minutes so it is a lot of time that could be used doing something else.
I found Cloak & Dagger’s story annoying at times. How can a priest prescribe sleeping pills to Ty? Is he also a doctor and a teacher? I don’t think that a school counselor has that ability. Ty often finds himself abruptly in a different location. How close is it to the school because even though he is late, he can still arrive at his destination fairly quickly and without being sweaty. The series is set in New Orleans, and I’m not as familiar with it as Manhattan so I have no sense of distance between the nice part of town where Ty resides and where he goes to conduct his investigation. Also if you were once poor, you wouldn’t waste that much food. Ty’s character is saved with one line, “If I do everything perfect, they’ll still come after me so why be perfect?”
While I liked that Cloak & Dagger frankly dealt with race and how the deck is stacked against good black kids, I also thought it was a little heavy handed that Ty was always getting in trouble over misunderstandings. He was Mister “It isn’t what it looks like.” I just want him to learn from each screwup and make new mistakes. Also I’m surprised that his parents did not beat him more often with the way that he talked to them. Aubrey Joseph has a dry sense of humor that takes center stage in Episode 8, but occasionally it feels as if we are uncomfortable close to veering into The Help territory in which black characters complain about being treated unfairly then do what the stereotype expects.
As viewers, we are discovering their powers as they do, but unfortunately it makes watching Cloak & Dagger feel like a slog and filler. Oddly enough, the most interesting characters are Evita, Ty’s girlfriend, played by Noelle Renee Bercy, who is like a teen Ruth Negga, and her aunt, Chantelle, played by Angela M. Davis. I did appreciate that if you are not a main character, any supporting character could be eliminated. Also I love that the Hess family was cast with Asian actors. Ally Maki and Tim Kang as Nina and Ivan Hess elicited my sympathy immediately, and I was invested in their stories.
Around Episode 8, Cloak & Dagger starts making explicit references to other Marvel productions, but does anyone else recall O’Reilly from Luke Cage? I do not. There was a nice musical reference to Kingpin from Daredevil. Apparently Roxxon is visually referenced in other productions, but the corporation plays a big role in this series as an ambitious competitor to Rand and Stark. There is a Stan Lee cameo reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s silkscreen style. Even though it isn’t explicitly referenced, the same Darkforce featured in a few Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. episodes and the second season of Agent Carter is tied to Cloak’s powers.
While I did not mind the denouement, Cloak & Dagger’s big finish felt derivative and uses a threat that has entire series devoted to the subject. While it worked, it suffers in comparison to the field of other TV shows and movies with similar menaces. Also the elimination of the threat seemed a bit awkward because unlike other shows, it is murder even if it is self-defense because apparently the symptoms can be cured. Also after a big setup of foreboding for the main characters, it just fizzles with no real explanation as to why it worked out as it did. Maybe I missed something because I certainly did initially, but I ultimately think that after hammering home the point of the divine pairing, the ending is anticlimactic and inexplicable.
Because I’m a completist, I’ll keep watching Cloak & Dagger if it gets renewed, but it is definitely one of Marvel’s weaker entries though it has potential. Regarding what I hope to see in the future, I believe in the principle that if I don’t see a body, a person isn’t dead. I don’t believe that the main character’s loved ones are dead until I see a brief flashback of a body or a funeral scene. Ty’s loved one definitely has a grave. We never see one for Tandy’s relative. How do we know whether or not he has powers and is being kept prisoner by Roxxon?